I need help with food I'm at a loss!

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SexyPirate93
SexyPirate93 Posts: 29
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I've gone from not eating anything to overeating and have a very bad habit of not eating breakfast and I know that's a big taboo fir trying to get onto a healthy lifestyle so this is where you guys come in. Strangely enough I am terrified of the stove.. long story. So my question is to y'all: what is your favorite healthy cold meals?
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Replies

  • jynxxxed
    jynxxxed Posts: 1,010 Member
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    You don't have to eat breakfast if you don't want to. In regards to cold meals.. I'll eat just about anything cold so I can't really be of much assistance.
    I'd eat cold pizza or chinese food allllll day if I could!
  • SexyPirate93
    SexyPirate93 Posts: 29
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    Lol I love cold pizza! :-) My mom always thought I was crazy.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    ^^ I second that, you absolutely do not need to eat breakfast if you don't want to, I hardly ever do. Favorite cold meal: Ham and turkey sandwich on sourdough
  • Baranlomiel
    Baranlomiel Posts: 3
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    I'm a big fan of Turkey Sandwiches, especially if I cram an entire avocado into it. Then I'm very happy. I usually have it on wheat bread with mustard, lettuce and tomatoes, sometimes sprouts and pickles. Also, I never used to eat breakfast myself because I was always in a rush, plus I'm usually not hungry right when I wake up. Then I'd always feel kind of sluggish and get a little shaky late in the morning so I've started forcing myself to eat something even if I'm resistant. Usually something like a small bowl of yogurt and some fruit. It seems to help me remain conscious throughout the earlier part of the day. That's just me though!
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    I hate breakfast but if I eat it I need almost no food until lunchtime, so it works for me.

    Cold meals:

    *good quality bread (sourdough, ciabatta, whatever) sliced reasonably thin and topped with avocado, grilled chicken, feta and a little of whatever sauce you fancy

    * salad. I live on salad in summer

    * wraps with salad veges, cold meat (from the deli if you don't want to cook it) salsa and plain yoghurt

    * cous cous - almost no cooking required, and you can have it with damn near anything

    * hiyayakko - Japanese dish, silken tofu with soy sauce, maybe a bit of wasabi, and spring onions

    * toast and avocado. this is my fallback meal whenever I can't be bothered.

    * courgette and carrot grated together, with mint, sunflower seeds and a tiny bit of balsamic dressing mixed through it.

    * plain yoghurt mixed with mint and finely diced cucumber, with crackers or vege sticks dipped in

    * rice crackers with cottage cheese on them

    * any crackers with low cal dip - my faves are tomato, ,chilli and capsicum salsa, feta and spinach, and rocket and lemon.

    * pre cooked brown rice from the supermarket heated in the microwave with salad veg shredded/grated/ chopped small, and some hummus mixed through
  • Madmadammich
    Madmadammich Posts: 3 Member
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    I don't understand people saying "You don't need breakfast"... Uhhh... Yes. Yes you do. Sure, you don't have to, but you don't have to diet either, or HAVE to do anything for that matter either. Need and want are different things. The fact remains, eating breakfast WILL speed up your metabolism. Your body NEEDS it because it needs to BREAK the FAST (sleeping for 8 hours) Thus the word BREAKFAST. The sooner you can eat upon waking up, the better... and actually the best thing you can do for your body in the morning, before you sip any coffee, eat anything, or workout (working out first thing in the morning has also been proven to increase weight loss over working out later in the day) is to drink a big glass of water. But yeah. Getting used to eating breakfast is tough to get used to. For me, I used to feel like throwing up, because I was not used to eating breakfast during the weekdays. Your body quickly adjusts though, because it is actually optimal for it do so, and to eat more calories, earlier in the day, rather than later. And that's not just my opinion, ask any dietician or physician.

    As for cold foods... if you really do have that strong of an aversion to cooking, I tend to like string cheese, for on the go, and tuna for a good protein filling food. Be watchful of sodium though, particularly if you eat more processed/packaged foods.

    Good luck!!
  • AllisonBFS
    AllisonBFS Posts: 1
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    I agree. Breakfast is really important. I am losing weight by eating three meals a day plus two healthy snacks between meals. I find that when I was grazing in the evening, I wasn't hungry in the morning for breakfast. Now I try to finish my eating by six or seven p.m. and.... 12 hours later yes I am hungry for breakfast.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    Yogurt with berries and a bit of granola or nuts :) It's pretty cliched on a diet, I'm sure, but I eat it all the time because it's just yummy.

    I hate most of those yogurts in (fake) berry flavors, though. It's not the same taste at all, in case you hate those, too.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    I don't understand people saying "You don't need breakfast"... Uhhh... Yes. Yes you do. Sure, you don't have to, but you don't have to diet either, or HAVE to do anything for that matter either. Need and want are different things. The fact remains, eating breakfast WILL speed up your metabolism. Your body NEEDS it because it needs to BREAK the FAST (sleeping for 8 hours) Thus the word BREAKFAST. The sooner you can eat upon waking up, the better... and actually the best thing you can do for your body in the morning, before you sip any coffee, eat anything, or workout (working out first thing in the morning has also been proven to increase weight loss over working out later in the day) is to drink a big glass of water. But yeah. Getting used to eating breakfast is tough to get used to. For me, I used to feel like throwing up, because I was not used to eating breakfast during the weekdays. Your body quickly adjusts though, because it is actually optimal for it do so, and to eat more calories, earlier in the day, rather than later. And that's not just my opinion, ask any dietician or physician.

    As for cold foods... if you really do have that strong of an aversion to cooking, I tend to like string cheese, for on the go, and tuna for a good protein filling food. Be watchful of sodium though, particularly if you eat more processed/packaged foods.

    Good luck!!
    Absolutely false. Eating breakfast will not speed up your metabolism. It's a myth. Eating breakfast is purely personal preference. "Breakfast" as a meal is a thoroughly modern invention, not at all necessary for health.
  • Ian_Stuart
    Ian_Stuart Posts: 252 Member
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    I will be the lone dissenting voice here. I follow something called leangains, which is an intermittent fasting protocol. I eat all of my daily food in an 8 hour window and then don't eat for 16 hours. Basically, I eat lunch and dinner, then sleep and skip breakfast and don't eat until noon or later the next day. Fasting lowers blood sugar, helps promote pancreatic function, AND seems to make things live longer!
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/08/06/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermittent_fasting
    I have had great success, once I got over the initial discomfort of being hungry sometimes, as it lets me eat a large, full lunch and dinner and be very satisfied, rather than spreading my calories out over a normal 16 hour feeding window and eating, in my case, an average of 600 calories for each of 3 meals, I eat 2 meals of 800 and 1000 calories each on non-workout days and feel very full and content.
    It isn't for everyone, and I think that first article even says that women should probably aim for a 14 hour fast rather than 16.
    But I have transitioned from being very hungry as meal time approached before I started this schedule, to sometimes not even realizing that it is time to eat until 3 or 4 in the afternoon these days.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    It's funny, I used to never eat breakfast and felt great. Now, after creating a fairly mild caloric deficit and doing a lot more exercise (the intensity, not minutes), I can't get to late in the day without feeling awful unless I've eaten breakfast. I really feel terrible. It's like my body needs about half of my calories way earlier in the day than it used to.

    I don't eat as much later in the day as I did, so it's no problem, but it surprised me. I don't think I could fast. But y'all go on and do what works for you, of course :)
  • KyliAnne26
    KyliAnne26 Posts: 209 Member
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    I don't understand people saying "You don't need breakfast"... Uhhh... Yes. Yes you do. Sure, you don't have to, but you don't have to diet either, or HAVE to do anything for that matter either. Need and want are different things. The fact remains, eating breakfast WILL speed up your metabolism. Your body NEEDS it because it needs to BREAK the FAST (sleeping for 8 hours) Thus the word BREAKFAST. The sooner you can eat upon waking up, the better... and actually the best thing you can do for your body in the morning, before you sip any coffee, eat anything, or workout (working out first thing in the morning has also been proven to increase weight loss over working out later in the day) is to drink a big glass of water. But yeah. Getting used to eating breakfast is tough to get used to. For me, I used to feel like throwing up, because I was not used to eating breakfast during the weekdays. Your body quickly adjusts though, because it is actually optimal for it do so, and to eat more calories, earlier in the day, rather than later. And that's not just my opinion, ask any dietician or physician.

    As for cold foods... if you really do have that strong of an aversion to cooking, I tend to like string cheese, for on the go, and tuna for a good protein filling food. Be watchful of sodium though, particularly if you eat more processed/packaged foods.

    Good luck!!
    Absolutely false. Eating breakfast will not speed up your metabolism. It's a myth. Eating breakfast is purely personal preference. "Breakfast" as a meal is a thoroughly modern invention, not at all necessary for health.

    ^^ What this person said. You absolutely don't need to eat breakfast. The myth that it "speeds up your metabolism" is a common myth perpetuated by folks like Shape magazine, right under the "Six Days to a Six Pack!" article. The specific times of day that you eat don't matter, as long as you eat. More often than not, I just eat lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and an evening snack. Anyone who tells you breakfast is a requirement doesn't understand metabolism or how the body works.'

    Edited to add: With that being said, do whatever works for you. If you want to start eating breakfast, cold whole-grain cereal with fruit is always a good bet. Good luck!
  • doublec4me
    doublec4me Posts: 12 Member
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    Hi,

    I hard boil eggs and have one in the morning with a greek yogurt or cottage cheese cup. The protein keeps me full till lunch. Just make sure you are getting the low fat ones. If I am really hungry I add berries to the yogurt or mandarin oranges to the cottage cheese.

    I also go through the drive through and get my coffee!

    Hope that helps!

    Christy
  • SexyPirate93
    SexyPirate93 Posts: 29
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    Thanks all for your advice and input. I tend to only eat when I'm hungry and that isn't very often. I rarely eat more than 2 meals a day but I want to start eating three times a day to see if I feel better and keep my calories around 1500.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Thanks all for your advice and input. I tend to only eat when I'm hungry and that isn't very often. I rarely eat more than 2 meals a day but I want to start eating three times a day to see if I feel better and keep my calories around 1500.
    Eating when you are hungry is a terrible idea when dieting, as hunger is a hormonal response, and when you're in a calorie deficit your body dials back that response as part of a famine survival tactic (if you're distracted by hunger pants, hunting becomes problematic.) It's best to budget your calories, plan your meals (including exercise calories when appropriate) and stick to the numbers.
  • angie007az
    angie007az Posts: 406 Member
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    If you follow the 5:2 plan like I do, skipping breakfast can be a good thing. Lots of videos out there on the 5:2 plan. You just eat your calories later in the day. The theory is that you are burning fat in those hours right before breakfast.
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    Breakfast is a myth.

    I believe in breakfast. I've actually eaten it myself. I know other people who share my delusion.
  • MetalPisces
    MetalPisces Posts: 261 Member
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    If you are afraid of the stove, have you looked into getting Tupperware? There are TONS of ways to cook in the microwave with their products (omelet maker, steams, casserole bowls, etc.) You would never have to touch a stove and everything is dishwasher safe and guaranteed for LIFE!
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    You definitely do not have to eat breakfast to lose, meal timing has no relevance. Do what works for you and what you can be consistent with. I much prefer having 1-2 bigger meals.

    As for cold things to eat:

    Peanut butter is always good
    Turkey sandwiches (even better if you add bacon which you can microwave since your scared of the stove)
    BLT
    Yogurt
    Salads

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